Etymologically
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futuristic

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 22:55. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌfjuːt͡ʃəˈɹɪstɪk/[1]
  • US: /ˌfjut͡ʃəˈɹɪstɪk/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English futurist + -ic,[2][3][4] and in some senses from English future + -istic.[2][3][5] The OED notes that the first, theological sense followed German futuristisch, used in 1854 in the German passage translated in the first English quotation.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In theology, relating to the belief that the prophecies of scripture, especially those about the end of the world, are still to be fulfilled: 1856, in a translation of C. A. Auberlen's book on the prophecies of Daniel.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The word followed the senses of futurist.[2] From 1874 to 1887 it was used of music in the manner of Richard Wagner,[2] and since 1910 of Futurism, the artistic movement that began in Italy.[2] From 1913 it described design or technology that seemed to belong to an imagined future, ultramodern or ahead of its time,[2][6] a sense Etymonline dates to 1915 as "avant-garde, ultra-modern".[3][7] Grammarians used it from 1894 for forms expressing what is yet to happen,[2] and since 1906 it has meant simply relating to the future or to future society;[2] Etymonline dates this sense to 1921 and explains it as formed afresh from future and -istic.[3]

Timeline

  • 1856 – theology, holding that scriptural prophecies are yet to be fulfilled.[2][3]
  • 1874 – music, in the style of Wagner (obsolete after 1887).[2]
  • 1894 – grammar, expressing an action yet to happen.[2]
  • 1906 – relating to the future or future society.[2]
  • 1910 – relating to Futurism in art.[2]
  • 1913 – of design or technology, ultramodern.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of a design, a building or a technology, looking as if it belongs to the future; ultramodern: The new airport terminal has a futuristic glass roof.[6][2][4]
  2. Relating to the future, or set in it: a futuristic novel.[7][2][4]
  3. Relating to Futurism, the early 20th-century movement in art and literature.[6][7][2]
  4. (theology) Holding that the prophecies of scripture are still to be fulfilled.[2]
  5. (grammar) Expressing an action or event yet to happen.[2]

Word family

  • futuristically
  • nonfuturistic
  • unfuturistic

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  7. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster